Champaign school board vacancies linger as two members skip selection meeting

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. (WCCU/WICS) — The Champaign Unit 4 School Board has until May 3rd to fill the two vacancies on their board, 60 days after the first resignation of Jamar Brown.

On Tuesday a special meeting was scheduled in order to interview 10 candidates and hopefully fill the board vacancies, but board members Amy Armstrong and Betsy Holder both stated they would not attend the meeting. Leading to a lack of quorum and the meeting to be canceled.

Fox Illinois spoke with Holder and she said that due to the process of choosing a board member and the state of the board, she does not trust any of them to pick the right candidates for the job.

If the decision is not made in the 60 days, it will be up to regional superintendent Gary Lewis to decide. This is Holder's goal, stating that Lewis is an unbiased party who can look at the board from the outside and determine what they really need. Lewis says if he is called to help fill the vacancies, it will be the first time in his 5 year career.